QUARTZSITE, Arizona – Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents seized approximately $90,000 worth of methamphetamine Tuesday morning at the immigration checkpoint on Highway 95, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, and later rescued a Honduran national from the Colorado River.

On Thursday, November 30, agents working the immigration checkpoint referred two adult male U.S. citizens in a Ford Expedition for a secondary inspection of the vehicle after a canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect. During the search, agents found 30 packages of meth, weighing approximately 30 pounds, concealed in one of the vehicle’s quarter panels and in the rear air conditioning unit. Agents arrested both men for narcotics smuggling and seized the drugs and vehicle.

Early Tuesday, November 28 in the evening, agents assigned to Yuma Station’s Riverine Unit saved a 38-year-old male Honduran from drowning. The man had jumped into the Colorado River in an attempt to avoid apprehension after entering the U.S. illegally. Agents saw the man struggling to stay afloat while clinging to vegetation along the edge of the river. Agents in a boat soon arrived and pulled the man to safety. He was then transported to Yuma Station for processing in accordance with Yuma Sector guidelines.

An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

All persons, drugs and vehicles are processed per Yuma Sector guidelines. Federal law allows agents to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt.

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents effectively combat smuggling organizations attempting to illegally transport people and contraband through southwestern Arizona and California. Citizens can help the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by calling 1-866-999-8727 toll-free to report suspicious activity. Callers can remain anonymous.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP strives to keep terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.